Methods for Structuring Digital Cartographic Data in a Personal Computer Environment1 1This chapter is based on an article published in 1984 Cartographica, Vol. 21, No. 4, pp. 66-113, entitled; “A conceptual framework and comparison of spatial data models”.

Abstract

Publisher Summary This chapter presents a general review of digital data models for the storage and manipulation of cartographic data applicable to the personal computing context. It provides an introduction to some general concepts and terminology that were developed within the field of Database Management Systems. Within the field of Database Management Systems, there is general agreement that to implement or evaluate a data model for use in a computer environment, the data need to be viewed at a number of levels in turn, progressing from reality, through the abstract, user-oriented information structure, to the concrete machine-oriented storage structure. The chapter presents an introduction to quality criteria that affect the decision of how data are to be digitally represented and discusses the nature of cartographic data. It reviews the various types and relative merits of spatial data models that have been used in digital, cartographic data storage and processing applications, within a general taxonomic framework. The chapter presents the primary options available for representing geographic data and to show how these options are conceptually interrelated.